Updated 2:37 pm, Friday, August 23, 2013

Photo: Nick De La Torre

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Texas Parks and Wildlife says it has spread grass seed into the burned-out woodlands at Bastrop State Park to ease erosion and help the great pine forest heal itself after last year's fires that consumed thousands of acres. less

Texas Parks and Wildlife says it has spread grass seed into the burned-out woodlands at Bastrop State Park to ease erosion and help the great pine forest heal itself after last year's fires that consumed ... more

Photo: Nick De La Torre

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A budget boost will help keep all 95 state parks open and operating, including the Bastrop State Park, which was devastated by drought-induced fires in 2011; the park will receive $5 million toward restoration.

A budget boost will help keep all 95 state parks open and operating, including the Bastrop State Park, which was devastated by drought-induced fires in 2011; the park will receive $5 million toward restoration.

Photo: Chase A. Fountain, HOPD

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A dead oak tree along the side of the road survived the wild fires that killed most of the trees died when the drought followed the fire. Texas Parks and wildlife says they have a five year plan to replenish the trees, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012, in Bastrop State Park. ( Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle ) less

A dead oak tree along the side of the road survived the wild fires that killed most of the trees died when the drought followed the fire. Texas Parks and wildlife says they have a five year plan to replenish ... more

Photo: Nick De La Torre

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A fire last September in Bastrop County burned through thousands of acres, including 95 percent of Bastrop State Park. Some parts of the park are still closed to the public.

A fire last September in Bastrop County burned through thousands of acres, including 95 percent of Bastrop State Park. Some parts of the park are still closed to the public.

Photo: WILLIAM LUTHER

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Before the fire, Bastrop State Park was open all year for biking, hiking, swimming and golf. Historic cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps were undamaged but remain closed.

Before the fire, Bastrop State Park was open all year for biking, hiking, swimming and golf. Historic cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps were undamaged but remain closed.

Photo: Chase A. Fountain

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Rocky Barr wipes away a tear as he surveys the remains of his home on Sanders Cemetery Road in Magnolia, Texas on Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. Fed by howling winds whipped up by the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, flames streaked across drought-stricken Texas, where more than 190 fires statewide have killed four people. The worst damage was in Bastrop, where two smaller fires joined to form a monster blaze that has destroyed more than 1,550 homes and charred more than 34,000 acres. (AP Photo/The Courier, Karl Anderson) less

Rocky Barr wipes away a tear as he surveys the remains of his home on Sanders Cemetery Road in Magnolia, Texas on Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. Fed by howling winds whipped up by the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, ... more

Photo: Karl Anderson, Associated Press

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Planes fly through smoke as they work against a wildfire in Bastrop, Texas, on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011. Officials say more than 40 homes have been evacuated in Central Texas as firefighters battle a wildfire in the same county where a destructive blaze last month destroyed more than 1,500 homes. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Deborah Cannon)

Firefighting helicopters dump water and flame retardant after loading up with water from a pond at Lost Pines Golf Club as they fight a fire in Bastrop State Park September 6, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas. Several large wildfires have been devastating Bastrop County for the last two days. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images) less

Firefighting helicopters dump water and flame retardant after loading up with water from a pond at Lost Pines Golf Club as they fight a fire in Bastrop State Park September 6, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas. Several ... more

Photo: Erich Schlegel

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Alvin Becker and family return to their home in Circle D Estates after the wildfires near Bastrop, Texas, Monday September 12, 2011. The Beckers had raked pine needles away from the house before evacuating. The burn mark goes right up to where they raked. Their home and three others next to it were the only one still standing Monday, thanks to the efforts of their neighbor Randy Stack who stayed behind and used garden hoses to keep the flames down all week. Officials are saying approximately 1,500 homes have been destroyed making this the worst wildfire disaster in Texas history. (Erich Schlegel/Special Contributor) less

Alvin Becker and family return to their home in Circle D Estates after the wildfires near Bastrop, Texas, Monday September 12, 2011. The Beckers had raked pine needles away from the house before evacuating. ... more

Photo: Erich Schlegel, Houston Chronicle

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DC-10 airplane drops retardant to help fight a large wildfire, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011, near Magnolia, Texas. The plane, a converted DC-10 jet is capable of dropping 12,000 gallons of fire retardant. was assigned to Bastrop County in Central Texas but was temporarily diverted to attack a "particularly aggressive fire" that has been burning across Montgomery, Grimes and Waller counties, said Carman Apple, Texas Forest Service spokeswoman. Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell said he hopes the use of the plane reinforces the bulldozers that had been working through the night to contain the active fire inside an earthen berm. less

DC-10 airplane drops retardant to help fight a large wildfire, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011, near Magnolia, Texas. The plane, a converted DC-10 jet is capable of dropping 12,000 gallons of fire retardant. was ... more

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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In this Sept. 7, 2011 file photo, n area destroyed by wildfire surrounds a water tower, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011, in Bastrop, Texas. The fire has destroyed more than 600 homes and blackened about 45 square miles in and around Bastrop. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) less

In this Sept. 7, 2011 file photo, n area destroyed by wildfire surrounds a water tower, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011, in Bastrop, Texas. The fire has destroyed more than 600 homes and blackened about 45 square ... more

Photo: Eric Gay

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Deb Boyd looks through the remains of her friend's home that was destroyed by wildfires, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011, in Bastrop, Texas. The fire has destroyed more than 1,000 homes and blackened about 45 square miles in and around Bastrop. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) less

Deb Boyd looks through the remains of her friend's home that was destroyed by wildfires, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011, in Bastrop, Texas. The fire has destroyed more than 1,000 homes and blackened about 45 square ... more

Photo: Eric Gay, Associated Press

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Heart of the Pines volunteer fire fighter Gary Hicks fights a wildfire near Bastrop, Texas, Monday September 5, 2011. 18 of the 24 Heart of the Pines Volunteer Fire Department fire fighters who lost their homes in the wildfire. (Erich Schlegel/Special Contributor) less

Heart of the Pines volunteer fire fighter Gary Hicks fights a wildfire near Bastrop, Texas, Monday September 5, 2011. 18 of the 24 Heart of the Pines Volunteer Fire Department fire fighters who lost their ... more

Photo: Erich Schlegel, Houston Chronicle

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Fire damage is seen in an aerial image taken over the wildfires in the Bastrop, Texas area Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/San Antonio Express-News, William Luther)

Fire damage is seen in an aerial image taken over the wildfires in the Bastrop, Texas area Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/San Antonio Express-News, William Luther)

Photo: William Luther, MBO

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Paul Sandberg stands on the remains of the more than 30-year-old house that he built outside the city of Bastrop, Texas, Tuesday morning Sept. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Tamir Kalifa/The Daily Texan)

Paul Sandberg stands on the remains of the more than 30-year-old house that he built outside the city of Bastrop, Texas, Tuesday morning Sept. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Tamir Kalifa/The Daily Texan)

BASTROP, TX - SEPTEMBER 6: One of several classic motorcycles sits charred among the remnants of a burned down home on the east side of Lake Bastop on September 6, 2011 outside Bastrop, Texas. Several large wildfires have been devastating Bastrop County for the last two days. less

BASTROP, TX - SEPTEMBER 6: One of several classic motorcycles sits charred among the remnants of a burned down home on the east side of Lake Bastop on September 6, 2011 outside Bastrop, Texas. Several large ... more

Photo: Erich Schlegel, Getty

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Residents view the wild fire along Highway 21 near Highway 95 on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas. More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in at least 57 wildfires across rain-starved Texas, most of them in one devastating blaze near Austin that is still raging out of control, officials said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Ralph Barrera) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT; AP MEMBERS ONLY less

Residents view the wild fire along Highway 21 near Highway 95 on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas. More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in at least 57 wildfires across rain-starved Texas, most ... more

A helicopter dumps water on a fire in Steiner Ranch, west of Austin, Texas, on Sunday Sept. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner)

A helicopter dumps water on a fire in Steiner Ranch, west of Austin, Texas, on Sunday Sept. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner)

Photo: Jay Janner, MBR

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A fire burns a home in Steiner Ranch west of Austin, Texas, on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner)

A fire burns a home in Steiner Ranch west of Austin, Texas, on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner)

Photo: Jay Janner, MBR

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Planes drop fire retardant on wildfires in the Bastrop, Texas area Monday September 5, 2011. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net

Planes drop fire retardant on wildfires in the Bastrop, Texas area Monday September 5, 2011. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net

Photo: SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Chuck Tomlin uses a shovel to stop a fire in the back yard of a home Mauna Kea Lane in the Tahitian Village neighborhood in Bastrop, Texas, on Monday Sept. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner)

Chuck Tomlin uses a shovel to stop a fire in the back yard of a home Mauna Kea Lane in the Tahitian Village neighborhood in Bastrop, Texas, on Monday Sept. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay

Fire rages in a neighborhood near the west end of Bastrop, Texas on September 5, 2011 (John Davenport/San Antonio Express-News)

Fire rages in a neighborhood near the west end of Bastrop, Texas on September 5, 2011 (John Davenport/San Antonio Express-News)

Photo: SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (Photo can be sold to the public)

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Ryan Joseph Terranova packs up his belongings moments before evacuating his home in Bastrop, Texas, as a huge fire approaches on Monday Sept. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner)

Ryan Joseph Terranova packs up his belongings moments before evacuating his home in Bastrop, Texas, as a huge fire approaches on Monday Sept. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner)

Photo: Jay Janner, Associated Press

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A plume of smoke billows across the sky at a roadblock near Bastrop State Park as wildfires burn, Monday September 5, 2011 (JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net)

A plume of smoke billows across the sky at a roadblock near Bastrop State Park as wildfires burn, Monday September 5, 2011 (JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net)

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Kevin Giesalhart, fire chief of neighboring Five Points Fire Department, prepares to head to the scene of a wildfire in in Bastrop County, Texas on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/The Daily Texan, Trent Lesikar ) less

Kevin Giesalhart, fire chief of neighboring Five Points Fire Department, prepares to head to the scene of a wildfire in in Bastrop County, Texas on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/The Daily Texan, Trent ... more

Photo: Trent Lesikar, Associated Press

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Firefighting helicopters dump water and flame retardant after loading up with water from a pond at Lost Pines Golf Club as they fight a fire in Bastrop State Park September 6, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas.

Firefighting helicopters dump water and flame retardant after loading up with water from a pond at Lost Pines Golf Club as they fight a fire in Bastrop State Park September 6, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas.

Photo: Erich Schlegel, Getty

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Flames from a gas pipe continue to burn at a home that caught fire when wildfires swept through the area, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, in Bastrop, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Flames from a gas pipe continue to burn at a home that caught fire when wildfires swept through the area, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, in Bastrop, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

As Labor Day draws near, conditions are again ripe for wildfires like those that wreaked havoc two years ago in Central and East Texas, officials said.

Texas A&M Forest Service is urging residents to celebrate carefully this Labor Day because summer wildfire activity is typically at its highest over the holiday weekend.

Two years ago on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend - Sept. 4, 2011 - the Bastrop County Complex Fire broke out about 30 miles east of Austin and burned for 37 days, scorching more than 32,000 acres and destroying 1,660 homes, according to the A&M Forest Service.

It was the most destructive wildfire in Texas history.

Closer to Houston, a Magnolia-area blaze that became known as the Riley Road Fire started on Sept. 5, 2011, in Grimes County and spread south to Waller and Montgomery counties.

Also known as the Tri-County Fire, it burned for five days, consuming 18,960 acres and 73 homes, along with 20.8 million cubic feet of timber valued at $12.8 million, the Texas Forest Service reported at the time.

The forest service put the total economic impact of the Riley Road fire, including the value of products that could have been produced from the timber, at $420 million.

The Bastrop and Riley Road fires were just two of 516 wildfires that state and local firefighters responded to over Labor Day weekend in 2011, according to the forest service.

Statewide that year, wildfires burned about 4 million acres, nearly half the area that was scorched in 2011 in the entire United States, said Kelly King, A&M Forest Service assistant chief and regional fire coordinator for the 13-county Houston area.

This year, the primary areas of fire risk include the Hill Country and Central and East Texas, where timber and brush are rapidly drying out, the forest service said.

But anyone doing anything outside that could cause a spark should be careful, King said.

"Don't be lulled into a false sense of security," he said. "A lot of the trees that died in the 2011 drought are still there. They will burn a lot more readily than their green neighbor that didn't die."

Another danger, King said, is that dead trees that have been there a couple years are more likely to fall that green trees.

"Look up, look down and look all around," he said. "We want people to not be afraid but be aware, to enjoy themselves and be safe doing so."

Here are some reminders to help keep you safe:

Check to see where burn bans are in effect.

Be aware when grilling on wooden decks or in dry grass.

When cooking on a porch, leave enough clearance between the fire and the house wall.

Keep water handy in case of unintended fire.

When transporting barbecue pits, be sure the fire is out.

Completely extinguish all smoking materials.

Remember your vehicle's exhaust system or catalytic converter can ignite a fire when driving through or stopped in dry vegetation.

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